How tight should monobloc be?

[flamingle]

Hi all. I had a new bathroom fitted three months ago and have just noticed while cleaning that the monobloc basin tap is loose - it was very easy to swivel around. I’ve tightened it significantly with a monobloc spanner (after helpfully reading previous posts on here) but when I test splashing water around it still just leaks straight through the base. I’m wary of over tightening as have read this can cause the ceramic basin to crack - how tight should it be? The base plate has a rubber washer which looks to all be in place so I’m a bit stuck on what to try next! Thanks.

 

[terryplumb]

Loosen it ,check the tap is centralised over the hole in the basin and the rubber seal is in place and intact ( not split).
Re tighten the nut slowly until tap is secure. If there are more than one nut securing tap to basin ,alternately tighten them to their final positions 1/8 of a turn at a time.
Some basin tops around the tap hole are not very flat ,and if yours is ,then a thin bead of silicone under the tap base would need to be applied before fitting the tap.

 

[flamingle]

Thanks - very helpful. I’ve done this but the mounting plate starts bending after a while of tightening so the nut keeps moving up but the rest of the horseshoe bends. Is this normal? The tap still leaks slightly when it’s that tight, although not as much as previously.

 

[terryplumb]

I have not experienced a horse shoe metal washer bending , what's the thickness of the metal ?
Can you show us some pics ?

 

[flamingle]

Hard to get the right angle to show the bend but you should be able to see in the second photo!

 

[terryplumb]

Hard to see if the metal is bending in your pic , can you remove it and see if it's cracked ?
The rubber horshoe washer isn't sitting correctly ,not aligned with the metal washer ,which may be causing it to " skew" when tightened up

 

[flamingle]

Have taken the whole thing off and it’s more bent than I thought! Rubber washer is damaged too. Must have happened when it was originally fit. Assuming best solution is to try a new washer entirely and see if that helps?

 

[terryplumb]

Well I ain't seen that before ,lucky the basin wasn't cracked. It would require quite some torque to bend that metal washer like that.
New rubber and metal washers needed for sure.

 

[flamingle]

There are a couple of notches in the underside of the basin, so yes very lucky indeed. I actually turned the washer upside down on the theory it would bend back, it’s gone into place nicely and no leaks for now! Will still replace but at least a short term fix.

 

[terryplumb]

Good on ya !!

 

[flamingle]

Appreciate your help!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

There are a couple of notches in the underside of the basin, so yes very lucky indeed. I actually turned the washer upside down on the theory it would bend back, it’s gone into place nicely and no leaks for now! Will still replace but at least a short term fix.

I found them to bend very easily, when I have fitted them. I remember struggling to get a seal when I did my kitchen sink, I ended up somehow having to reinforce the horseshoe.